HILLINGDON UNITARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN - London Borough ...

accessible to more people and are likely to generate less road traffic. Where adequate town centre
alternatives are available, the Local Planning Authority should not respond to pressures for out-of-centre
development if they run counter to the strategic and local planning objectives of accessibility for all,
reducing the need for car trips, supporting public transport and sustaining the strength and vitality of town
centres.
(iii) There is an urgent need to reduce the domination of town centres by vehicles, in order to improve
the environment, make them safer and attract appropriate new investment and trade. A high density and
variety of land uses and activities, coupled with appropriate traffic management and pedestrian priority
measures can help achieve this aim.
(iv) Sites to accommodate appropriate town centre activities need to be identified. In many cases
comprehensive development will be necessary to ensure satisfactory service access, prevent the formation
of small, difficult to develop sites, protect buildings of historic or architectural interest and enhance their
settings, and maximise the environmental and public benefits that development can bring about.
Accordingly some sites have been identified and specific proposals are set out in Chapter 15 of this Plan.
(v) To maximise a range of shopping within walking distance of people's homes and workplaces, it is
necessary to protect and promote accessibility to local shops. To achieve this aim requires a commitment
by central and local government and developers to provide attractive and accessible facilities to encourage
use of modes of transport (especially walking and cycling) that help keep down CO2 and polluting
emissions.
(vi) The Local Planning Authority will seek to achieve benefits for the community in conjunction with
development in town centres in accordance with policies Pt 1.39 and R7, R16, R17 and LE7 of this Plan.
Accessibility
8.5 In accordance with RPG3 (1996) the Plan seeks to maximise people's accessibility to shops
without increasing their need to use private cars. PPG6 draws attention to the needs of people without
access to a car for whom easily accessible shops are a necessity. Any proposed retail development should
therefore be accessible on foot, by cycle or by public transport for all potential customers within its
catchment area. Developments likely to draw custom from beyond walking distance (generally a 800m
radius or a ten minute walk) should be readily accessible by public transport from the greater part of their
projected catchment areas. If existing public transport is insufficient in terms of area covered or service
frequency to provide the necessary accessibility the Local Planning Authority will seek agreements with
developers and operators that service or infrastructure improvements will be made in accordance with
Policy AM11 to meet criterion (iv) of policy S1.
Shopping Hierarchy
8.6 To help reduce traffic congestion, conserve energy and reduce the environmental effects of
carbon-based fuel combustion, it is important to minimise the use of cars for shopping trips, using them
only when the length of journey is justified by the size or value of the goods or services sought. It is
therefore important that people can buy day to day necessities at shops within walking distance of their
homes or workplaces, and that for more major items they do not have to travel further than their nearest
town centre. In order to provide a distribution of shops which minimises the need to make long shopping
trips and yet provides a range of shops, allowing customer choice and opportunities for new and existing
retailers, the Local Planning Authority has defined a six level hierarchy of shopping areas as set out in
Tables 8.1 and 8.2. It will use this hierarchy to maintain a distribution of locally accessible shops with
small, mainly walking distance catchment areas, and discourage a pattern of a few large shops accessible to
the majority of their customers only by longer car journeys from a large catchment area.
8.7 Town and local centres are well distributed throughout the Borough. Apart from Harefield, which
is in a rural area, all are within three kilometres of each other, thus offering most residents a choice of
centres within three kilometres of home, for convenience goods and most comparison goods. Only for
London Borough of Hillingdon Unitary Development Plan